Return to Republic City
by Grasspaw
Summary: AU: It's been two years since Amon and Tarrlok returned, destroying the Republic City Jinora has always known. Now she's on her own, in hiding, because if she leaves the underground tunnels of the rebels she'll be killed. And when one of the rebels, her old friend Skoochy, makes an amazing discovery, it's up to Jinora to help him take back the city.
1. Prologue

**Ha! I told you all I'd write this! I was actually already finished a week ago, but I realized that I should really put a bit of a prologue-y thing instead of just having super long Author's Notes at the beginning of each chapter. This is AU, obviously. Amon and Tarrlok disappeared into the wilderness seven years ago, and in the past two years they have suddenly returned, quickly gaining control of the city and much of the Earth Kingdom. Korra, Mako, Pema, and Tenzin were all killed fighting him, and many more people have disappeared, including Bolin and Chief Bei Fong. In Republic City the Resistance is growing, with benders and nonbenders alike defying Amon and Tarrlok's rule. In the garbage dump outside of the city, Skoochy and his gang dwell underground, fighting back in every way they can. So there you have it! Also, this is just a working title, and if anyone has a better idea PLEASE let me know about it. I own nothing but the idea.**

Noatak looked over the crowds standing before him and smiled, though it was covered by his mask. These were the loyal, those who recognized his bending as the necessary evil that it was. Tarrlok stood at his side, examining the men and women as well, and Noatak knew that his brother was just as proud.

"Equalists," he called out from his place on the podium, and immediately the whisperings and shushings stopped as an expectant hush fell over the crowd. "Today we celebrate a great victory!"

They cheered.

"No, more than one victory," Noatak said musingly. "A series, a string, of victories."

More cheering. Tarrlok nodded slightly, just the barest movement of his head. Noatak grinned, glad that the former Councilman approved of his speech.

"Over two years ago, my brother and I returned to Republic City after years in exile. We stayed undergound, slowly gathering you, our loyal followers, until the time came to take the city.

"And, two years ago today, _we did."_

The applause was tremendous. Noatak didn't wait for the applause to die down, simply shouted into the microphone, "Two years it has been since we overthrew the Council! Two years it has been since Republic City was cleansed! Two years since the city has been... equalized."

He grimaced as the applause and shouting rose in volume, making his ears hurt.

"And two years," he continued when things had grown quieter, "it has been... since the death of the Avatar!"

He saw Tarrlok's mouth tighten as the volume increased to a truly painful amount, and he himself clenched his teeth.

"There is no more Avatar. And there is no more airbending! Almost two hundred years ago the Air Nomads were almost entirely destroyed. And now, finally, there are no more airbenders!"

Tarrlok's expression stayed the same, but Noatak heard his sharp intake of breath and soft groan, too quiet for the mic to pick up. When he looked at Tarrlok, the younger man shook his head. It could wait, then.

He finished the speech, inspiring his followers and sending them on their way, then followed Tarrlok to the room at the back of the stage, removing his mask as soon as the door was closed.

"What's wrong?"

"The airbender kids are still alive, aren't they?" Tarrlok asked, frowning. Noatak shrugged.

"Unless they've starved on the streets, yes. Why?"

"Father was a bender," Tarrlok said instead of answering his question.

"Yes..." Noatak said slowly, not entirely sure where his brother was going with this.

"And he lost his bending."

"Yes," Noatak said impatiently. "So what?"

"_But we're still waterbenders._"

Noatak's eyes widened as he understood his brother's meaning.

"We have to kill those kids."


	2. Safe

**Aloha, y'all! I own nothing.**

Her feet were bleeding. The sharp stones underfoot cut into them, slicing open the skin, and she barely even noticed. She just kept running, gasping for breath and dodging the random piles of trash and boxes, everything the city didn't want.

So, she thought philosophically, it made sense that she should be here.

Her own ragged breathing was loud in her ears, and she desperately wished she could stop panting so hard. Spirits, they were going to catch her if she wasn't quieter. For the umpteenth time in the past few years, she wish she still had her glider.

Of course, it wouldn't do her much good, without her bending, but she still knew how to use it as a weapon.

She finally chanced a glance behind her and saw no one, but that didn't mean anything. These people were experts.

She leaped over an old chair with a missing leg, and the second she touched the ground her foot refused to move; it was encased in stone. She fell forward with an involuntary cry, hearing a sickening _crunch _but feeling nothing. She lay unmoving on the ground, her ankle twisted in a way it was never supposed to be, and she didn't make a noise. When she was a child she was taught that she should always make as much noise as possible when something bad happened, to scream and cry and run, and that would draw a crowd.

She had learned differently in the past two years. The crowd was never on her side.

She closed her eyes, and suddenly felt a slight tremor through the earth, and the rock encasing her foot sunk into the ground.  
_  
Benders, _she thought faintly, then felt rough hands pulling her to her feet, and she looked up to see narrowed green eyes staring at her. She sobbed in relief, realizing only then that she was crying.

"I thought you were leaving the city!"

"I can't!" she gasped. "They're everywhere! I can't get out! You have to help me."

"I can't risk it," he snarled, giving her a little shake. "I've got the others to worry about."

"Please," she whispered. "I can't bend."

"Then what do you have to worry about?" he asked, his grip on her shoulders tightening. She slapped his hands away and wanted to scream.  
_  
"When I have children they'll still be airbenders!_" she hissed through clenched teeth.

Realization dawned in his eyes. "He wants you gone."

"He already got Ikki and Meelo," she whispered. "I don't know about Rohan..." She hesitated, then said what she knew they were both thinking: "I'm the last."

She heard a shout from behind her, and the two of them automatically dived behind a pile of garbage.

"Oh, spirits, they found me," she whispered. She grabbed his arm and said pleadingly, "The airbenders have been facing extinction for nearly two hundred years. Don't be the one to finally let it happen."

He stared for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll take you to base. I'll get Kippy to look after your ankle. Duck."

She did so without a second thought, and the next thing she knew the pile of trash next to her head exploded, shot into the air by a giant rock beneath it, and then he grabbed her hand and she was sinking through the earth, and she wondered when she would see the sun again.

But for now, at least, she was safe.


	3. Dreams

***Wiggly finger wave* Yup, Jinora is the last airbender (even though she lost her bending), and Skoochy magically becomes... Read to find out. Chances are you can guess, or you've read this from before I strung them all together. Whatevs. I still don't own anything. You would have heard about if Nick had randomly decided to sell the rights to Korra to some random, overly-obsessed fanfiction writer, doncha think?**

"Jinora," someone whispered, shaking her shoulder roughly, and her eyes snapped open as she automatically brought a hand up to send a blast of air at them.

Nothing happened, and she felt the familiar ache in her chest when she realized that.

"Skoochy?" she asked blearily, rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong? Do you need me to-"

"No, no mission," he said, his voice shaking slightly. Not enough that most people would notice, but Jinora knew him well enough to pick up on his distress.

"Skooch, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned, reaching over and flipping on the light by her bed.

"I'm gonna show you something," he said weakly, turning and sitting on her bed and taking a deep breath. "And you have to promise not to freak out."

"Okay," Jinora said promptly, crossing her legs and turning to face him. "What is it?"

"I mean it," he said fiercely. "You absolutely, positively, _cannot _freak out."

"Okay," Jinora repeated, a little less certainly. "I promise."

"All right," he said, then took another deep breath. "All right."

He held out his hand, palm up, and she stared at it uncomprehendingly.

"Skoochy, what am I supposed to-"

"Wait," he said, his brow creased in concentration. He shook his hand slightly, and Jinora let out an involuntary cry, slapping her hand over her mouth.

There was a flame floating an inch above Skoochy's hand. Small and weak, but a flame nonetheless.

He was firebending.

Despite the fact that he was an earthbender.

"Is this real?" she asked in a hushed voice, and he nodded his head mutely.

"I... I had this dream," he said after a moment's hesitation. "I saw Korra."

"You saw... Korra?"

"Not just Korra," he continued weakly. "Aang. Roku. Kyoshi. Kuruk. Yangchen. Hundreds if them, all the past Avatars. They told me about the Avatar state."

"I know about that," Jinora said when he looked at her unsurely. "Dad told me. It's where the Avatar gains complete control over every element, combining the knowledge of every past Avatar. And if the Avatar dies in the Avatar state..." She stopped as realization dawned. "Oh, spirits," she whispered in horror. "That happened to Korra, didn't it? The cycle was broken."

No one had seen Korra die, though after that final, decisive battle, Amon and Tarrlok had produced the twenty-two-year-old's body as definite proof that she was gone.

"Yes," Skoochy said faintly. "There's no more Avatar. No one..."

"Your dream," Jinora murmured. "What did they say? All the Avatars."

"They said the cycle had been broken before," Skoochy murmured. "That Korra wasn't the first to die in the Avatar state. Neither was Aang.

"There was a firebdender," Skoochy continued in that same soft, almost haunted voice, "a couple thousand years ago. And he was killed in the Avatar State..."

He took a deep breath.

"So they _started over._"

"Started over?" Jinora asked, not understanding. "What does that mean?"

"They created a new Avatar," Skoochy said, leaning against the stone wall.

"You mean..." Jinora said carefully, although her heart was pounding and she wanted to scream she was so excited, "they had a new baby become the Avatar?"

"No. They picked an airbender who was around twenty or so to be the Avatar, because he was already a master of his own element... And then they gave him the power to bend other things."

Again, he bent that small flame in his hand, then closed his hand into a fist to put it out. They stared at each other.

"Jinora," he said finally, "I think... I think I'm the Avatar."


	4. Enough

**This takes place about three months after "Dreams." Skoochy's been on a crash course in firebending, and now he's finally finished that up and getting to go learn airbending with a certain girl who can't actually airbend anymore. I own nothing but the plot.**

"All right," Jinora said, taking a deep breath. This was only the second or third time she had seen Skoochy in a month, and now that they were the only two around she realized just how much she had missed him. She wanted to sit and talk the way they used to, laughing and arguing.

Of course, they couldn't do that, since she was supposed to be teaching him to airbend.

"So... this is going to be kind of hard."

He nodded.

"I guessed that," he said, scratching at his cheek, and she couldn't resist.

"You need to shave, boy. The whiskers don't look too great on you."

He sniffed, feigning indignation.

"I'll have you know I've been extremely busy and haven't had _time._"

"Yeah, I know," Jinora said softly.

Skoochy's eyes softened slightly, but then he straightened his back. "But anyways, I know this'll be hard. I mean, air is the opposite element of earth, so I'll pretty much have to completely change my style."

"Pretty much," Jinora said, nodding slightly as she examined him. Spirits, everything about him just screamed "earthbender". Tall and lean as he was, there was a definite solidness to him, and she wondered how she was going to get him to airbend. It was like Korra all over again.

"I mean," she continued, "that will be a problem, but also there's the fact that I won't be able to demonstrate exactly what you should be doing."

She gave him a sad smile, and he frowned in return. Though nowhere near as torn up about it as she was, she knew that Skoochy was miserable for her, and she drew a modicum of comfort from the fact. "I can show you the moves, but I won't really be able to go all out, and some of the moves you'll have to teach yourself, since you sort of have to be in the air to do them."

She sighed. "I wish we could get back to the island; we had all sorts of airbending tools there, and I could make you a glider, too..." She let out a frustrated groan. "Anyways, on to the bending."

"Right!" Skoochy said brightly. "No more depressing whatevers!"

She let out a reluctant laugh, unwillingly amused by his determined expression as he adjusted his stance.

"First things first: that stance will get you destroyed in airbending," she admonished him. "Light on your toes. Think like pro-bending," she suggested. "You have to be gentle. Airbending is all about circular movements. Like this."

She slowly moved her hands around in the air, as though rolling a large ball in her hands.

"Do this," she suggested. "Normally this would form a ball of air. For now, just try to do the movements and feel the air."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I know what air feels like."

"No, you don't," Jinora said serenely. "You've felt it before, but you've never _felt_it. Really pay attention to the air currents, the little pockets of wind. Come on, do it!"

He sighed and attempted to copy her movements, his wrists locked. She watched him for a few seconds, then shook her head and made a disapproving noise. He stopped and looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Don't tense up like that," she commanded. "Airbending is the element of freedom."

"So I've heard," he muttered, and she ignored him.

"It's loose and relaxed," she told him. "Imagine there's no bones in your wrist. It's just loose and-"

"Relaxed," he said, shaking his hand so that it flopped wildly from side to side. "And floppy."

Jinora giggled again. "Sure, I'll go with that. So, do the circular movement, floppy wrists and all."

He did, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration. She watched him critically, noticed the way he locked his knees instead of his wrists, and decided that that was enough for now.


	5. Focus

**So this one takes place maybe two-ish months after "Enough". Skoochy did fairly well with firebending, but airbending is so the opposite of his personality and his bending that he's hit something of a block. Jinora is frustrated, and I own nothing but the plot.**

"Focus!" Jinora said exasperatedly. Skoochy scowled.

"I am focusing!" he snarled, repeating the jerky movement he had been trying for the past twenty minutes.

"And what exactly are you focusing on?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Because it is most certainly not airbending!"

His gaze skittered away from hers, and she was confused when she saw the slight blush on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he grumbled. "I can't do it."

"Yes, you can!" she said in the encouraging tone her father had always used. "You just have to practice! Let's try it again. Remember, move your arm from left to right."

He copied her movement, and she sighed and moved around beside him, grabbing his forearm with her right hand and placing her left on his shoulder as she moved his arm in the direction it was supposed to go.

"No, left to right, like-"

He jerked his hand out of her grip and stepped away, his face scarlet and his eyes narrowed as all the frustration he had been feeling finally boiled over onto her.

"What do you know about this? You can't even bend!"

They froze, and Jinora pressed her lips tightly together.

"Skoochy," she said quietly, "if you think for one second that I am not perfectly aware of the fact that Amon took my bending, then you are the stupidest human being in the Earth Kingdom."

He hung his head.

"I am _trying_to help you," she said, the pain his words had caused her clear in her voice. "And I am sorry that I can't bend. I know that makes it hard for you to learn."

She took a deep breath, trying and failing to get her voice under control. She took several deep breaths, and finally shouted, "I'm just as frustrated as you! I want to teach you, I do! But I _can't_! I can't show you how to airbend anymore than you could teach me to earthbend. _I can't do it_, but somehow I'm supposed to because I'm the only airbender there is!"

Tears spilled over, and she gave vent to a frustrated sob, hanging her head. She wanted this to be over. The war, the resistance, the loneliness and pain. She couldn't even airbend, yet here she was, the only airbender in existence.

Well, former airbender.

"Jinora..."

She looked up and angrily dashed the tears from her eyes to see the anguished look on Skoochy's face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean it. I know you're trying. You're the best teacher a guy could ask for, I know that. It's just that I'm so _frustrated_that I can't do this, and I know it's the only chance we have to defeat Amon and Tarrlok, and I'm terrified that I won't manage it and the entire world will be destroyed because I failed."

He let out a harsh laugh. "Air's the element of freedom, and I've got so much pressure on me I can barely breathe. How's that for freedom?"

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know that must be hard. And I didn't mean to blow up at you."

"Hey," he said, cupping her cheek in his hand and brushing her tears away with his thumb. "You're okay. We'll be fine."

She nodded mutely, and he suddenly bent down and kissed her forehead. She let out a soft gasp, then closed her eyes as he pulled her into an embrace and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"We'll be fine," he whispered again, and she nodded against his shoulder.

And out of nowhere, a soft breeze caressed her cheek.


	6. Care

**So this takes place another two months after "Focus". Skoochy is progressing in his airbending training, and he's almost but not quite mediocre. This one is like twice as long as all the others, but it just kept going when I tried to finish it off, so... Here ya go. Please review this if you read it, because I thrive on reviews. I own nothing but the plot.**

Jinora peeked over the pile of trash, barely even noticing the stench. After living in a garbage dump for almost a year, and being outside in for nearly six hours, it just became a part of life. She was used to it.

She ducked back down, her heart hammering. She could have sworn she saw something move. Oh, she was going to die.

She wasn't exaggerating. If that man found her, she would be dragged before Amon and Tarrlok and killed. She'd seen it happen already, and she knew she was at the top of their list.

Unless Skoochy was. Their spies were unable to determine if the brothers knew about him already, and they didn't want to risk mentioning him to find out.

She ran, crouching over, to another pile of garbage. Skoochy would be furious when he found out, and she had no doubt that he would. His new status as the Avatar had quickly propelled him through the rebel ranks, along with her, the only former airbender still living.

She breathed through her mouth, trying to stay as quiet as she could. The nearest entrance was nearly a hundred feet away. Why had she come out here? She knew that Amon and Tarrlok were aware of the fact that this was where she was last seen. It should have seemed obvious they would have someone here looking for her.

But she had been desperate, after nine months of living underground, to see the sun again, so she snuck out under cover of night to see the moon and stars.

They were just as beautiful as she remembered, and the sight of them had taken her breath away.

She had meandered amongst the piles of rubbish, knowing this would be the last time she would be able to go above ground for another few months at least, and she was determined to make it count. She stood with her arms stretched out and her head thrown back, feeling the wind and pretending she could still control it.

When she had traversed nearly half the dump, she had suddenly heard a shout from behind her and had instinctively dived for cover.

And now here she was, trying desperately to get back to an entrance, any entrance, to go back underground, which suddenly seemed much more inviting than it had when she left. She was safe there, she had friends, she had Skoochy-

Skoochy. Oh, spirits, if she was killed... He was nowhere near finished with his airbending training! She shivered at the thought of him facing Amon _and_Tarrlok together, unable to airbend.

Worse still, he didn't have the Avatar state. As the first in a new line of Avatars, he had no past lives and, therefore, no experience to draw from. He would die without a doubt if he had to face them as he was.

So, she had to make it back.

She heard footsteps drawing closer and froze, hoping her dull brown clothes would blend in with the garbage.

They didn't.

The hand shot out of nowhere, grabbing her shoulder and yanking her backwards, and she kicked and screamed and fought to get away, seeing the glove the man was wearing on his other hand. Oh, spirits-

Suddenly a shower of dirt rained down on her from above as the ground behind her exploded, and when she looked behind her, there was Skoochy. His eyes were blazing as, with almost contemptous ease, he flicked his wrist and shot a rock at the man. It hit the side of his head and he crumpled, dragging Jinora down with him under his weight. Skoochy grabbed her wrist and pulled her up before earthbending the two of them back down the tunnel he had created.

When they reached the end of it he carefully sealed it behind them, still keeping a painfully tight grip on her wrist and not looking at her as he practically dragged her along behind him, marching along the passage towards the room they usually used for practice.

"Skoochy," she began, her voice shaking almost as much as she was, and he only gripped wrist even more tightly, shaking his head, and she trembled at the fury in his eyes. It occurred to her that she had never seen him truly angry before now, and when he pulled her into the room and slammed the door shut behind them before finally letting go of her, she automatically cowered away from him, cradling her wrist in her left hand. He watched her silently, his arms crossed, rage in his eyes. She wondered if he would hit her. He looked angry enough to do so.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and he finally exploded.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

She started crying, her shoulders heaving with sobs. Skoochy scowled at her.

"Well?" he demanded, and she cried even harder.

"I just... I missed the outside," she whispered hoarsely, and he shook his head in disgust.

"We all do! But the rest of know better than to risk our lives just so we can go above ground!"

He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a slight shake so that she looked up into his eyes.

"There is too much at stake here for you to go up there unless it's absolutely necessary," he growled. "I... spirits, kid, I thought you were gonna die!"

He shoved her away, wheeling around and pacing.

"So did I," she murmured. "But then you showed up."

He didn't say anything, still facing away from her. His shoulders were hunched, his head down, and she could see the tension in his body.

"Thank you," she said weakly, and he gave the slightest of shrugs, still facing away from her.

"Can't exactly let you die, can I?" he asked hoarsely.

"I know," Jinora said bitterly. "I have to teach you to airbend. No one else can do that."

"That's not why," he said bluntly, in the almost offensive tones he used when he was upset about something and didn't want other people to know. She recognized it and assumed he must still be angry with her. "I can always teach myself to airbend."

"I guess so," she said doubtfully. "But it would be a lot harder. And besides, I have to more or less recreate the entire airbending nation..."

Her shoulders slumped at the thought. Skoochy shook his head.

"Your aunt and uncle are both the kids of an airbender. Their kids could be airbenders."

"I guess," Jinora said. "But I doubt they'll ever have kids."

Her heart rate was slowly starting to slow down as she began to relax after the encounter and to realize how tired she was. She hadn't slept at all last night, and it was early morning now.

Skoochy shrugged again. "I mean," Jinora continued, "I really am the only airbender there is, so it's pretty much up to me to make sure there are more airbenders one day." She sighed softly. "So I guess it is kind of important I stay alive. Thanks for remembering that."

To her surprise, Skoochy swore violently, and when he whipped back around her lips parted slightly in surprise. There were tears in his eyes.

"How dense can you be?" he demanded, storming across the room and grabbing her shoulders again.

"What?" she gasped, attempting to pull away, but he wouldn't let her.

"I do not _care_," he said fiercely, "about my airbending teacher. I do not _care _about the only living airbender. I _care_ about that girl who I just saved up here. I _care_ about the girl who stuck it out with my teaching even when I insulted her to her face. I _care_about the most clueless, beautiful, amazing girl in the entire world."

His eyes bored into hers, and she stared him, her brown eyes wide. He slid his hands off her shoulders and down her arms, holding her tiny hands in his.

"Spirits, Jinora," he whispered. "I love you."

She continued staring at him, mouthing the words she wanted to say but unable to make a noise.

"Say something," Skoochy begged her, but she was unable to find her voice, she was so shocked.

So, without a word, she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.


	7. Naps

**Hiya! I know this one is really really super short, but maybe it's to make up for the length of "Care". This takes place maybe three weeks later? And it's the most drabble-ish of the lot of them. Also, I mention Asami in this. Yes, Asami is alive, and is one of the three main leaders of the resistance. Iroh II is the second, and Tahno, of all people, is the third. I own nothing but the plot.**

Jinora was sleepy that day. So she had told Skoochy upon entering he room for their daily practice session, her eyelids drooping.

"I am tired. I tried my absolute hardest to get out of training today, but Asami said no. Therefore, I am going to sleep in that corner there." She pointed at said corner. Skoochy raised his eyebrows. "You can practice your airbending or read a book or whatever else you want. Don't expect me to participate."

She had resolutely removed her jacket, balled it up under head, and laid down. She was asleep in two minutes.

Skoochy just stood in the middle of the room and stared at her, trying to understand her reasoning. Jinora was not one to slack off her work, tired or no. She must have been exhausted to actually ask permission not to train him.

It occurred to him that she hadn't been sleeping at night, for some reason; when he had passed her door on his way to the bathroom for the past two nights her light had been on. There had been dark shadows under her eyes for days. His brow furrowed in thought, he puzzled over what must be keeping her up.

And then, suddenly, it clicked, and his eyes softened as he understood.

Three years ago that day, Jinora had lost both her parents and her bending.

"Nightmares," he murmured, watching her as she slept. Her face was scrunched up in the way he usually found adorable, and she rolled over onto her other side, muttering in her sleep and trying to curl in on herself into a tighter ball.

Well, she had said whatever else he wanted to do. He was fairly certain this hadn't been what she meant, but if she really wanted him to practice his airbending, wouldn't she have said so?

He slowly lowered himself to the ground next to her and, gently so as not to wake her, lifted her into his lap so that her head was against his chest. She muttered again, one hand compulsively gripping his shirt. He lowered his head to kiss her forehead, and her brow cleared as she let out the tiniest of sighs.

He carefully grabbed the jacket she had been using as a pillow and fitted it behind his own head, letting out a soft sigh of his own and settling back, knowing he would be there for a while.

And they slept.


	8. Buttons

**And here's the first of the new chapter-y oneshots. Takes place probably another three months later, since he's finished airbending and waterbending. Enjoy! I still don't own anything.**

"You don't have to do this," Skoochy said for the tenth time in as many minutes. Jinora shrugged, yanking her hat down lower to ward off the coldness of the damp, early-spring morning.

"I know the secret entrances to the house," she said calmly. "I built three of them. I can lead the group."

"Or you could tell someone else how to get in," Skoochy replied, frowning as she began to button up her jacket.

"What if one of the entrances is blocked?" she asked patiently. "Help me with this, will you?"

He moved forward and fought with a button that seemed determined not to fit in the buttonhole.

"Then they could go through a different one," he said, frowning in concentration.

"I'll have to show them where another entrance is."

"Or you could _tell _them," he said fiercely.

"Skoochy," she said quietly, and he raised his eyes from the troublesome button to her face. "I know Air Temple Island better than anyone, and I know what I'm getting into, okay? We all do."

He let down the barriers and drew her roughly into an embrace. She pressed her face against the rough fabric of his shirt, sighing softly.

"That's the part that worries me," he said hoarsely. "If I didn't know what could happen..."

"You'd probably envision something much worse," Jinora whispered. "Like I said, I know what'll happen if I get caught. It just gives me a good reason not to, doesn't it?" she asked with a sorry attempt at a smile. Skoochy pressed his lips together, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Stay safe," he whispered. Jinora nodded slightly, her eyes closed.

"I will." She told herself fiercely that she wasn't going to cry; she would be strong for Skoochy. She committed the moment to memory: her hands on his chest, his arms around her waist, their breath intermingling, his old cap on her head. Safe, for just a few more minutes.

It was Skoochy who finally pulled away. "You have to go," he said weakly, and she nodded, crossing her arms and cupping her elbows in her palms.

"I do."

Neither of the moved.

"I'm not sure I like your hair black," Skoochy said, twirling a strand around his finger. They had just dyed it that morning, hoping that at first glance, people would see only a girl with long, dark hair, and not the missing airbending girl who had last been seen with her hair short and brown. Jinora smiled.

"It's certainly different. But Zump said it'll wash out."

"Let's hope he's right. You were born to be brunette, kid."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that," Jinora said, pretending to frown. He smiled sadly.

"Tell you what, kid, if we're both alive tomorrow and Amon and Tarrlok aren't, I'll call you whatever you want."

"If?" Jinora murmured.

"When," Skoochy amended, placing his hands on her waist. "When we see each other tomorrow. After we win. I'll meet you at Central City Station."

"Okay," Jinora said quietly. "You'll be in more danger than me, anyways. I'll be staying hidden, you'll be fighting them."

"Right," Skoochy murmured. "Long as it's me and not you, I could care less."

"I really have to go," she whispered. "They'll be waiting for me."

"I know, I know... Promise you'll stay safe."

Jinora stared into his eyes, memorizing them. The lighter shades, the flecks of gold shot through them, the pain as he understood that she really did have to go.

"I can't promise you that," she whispered, placing her hand on his cheek. His expression was pained as he leaned into her touch. "But I promise I'll try."

"I guess that's all I can ask for, huh?" he asked brokenly, giving her a lopsided smile. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"See you tomorrow?" he asked, the same words he had used every day of his airbending training.

"I'll do my best," she said, trying to smile. "See you tomorrow."

And, because she knew if she waited another moment she would never leave, she pulled away from him and all but ran from the room.


	9. Waiting

**Hee hee! I just watched a funny video on youtube! And this actually takes place on the _same day_ as the last chapter! Can you believe it? Standard disclaimers apply.**

Jinora waited. She had been waiting for nearly an hour. _Come on,_ she thought anxiously, checking her watch again. _Five minutes._

She swallowed and forced herself to relax. Where were they? The plan had been simple. She was to lead a group into one of the secret passages on Air Temple Island, where Amon and Tarrlok had set up their headquarters, and then wait just inside the tunnel while her team fought the bloodbending brothers. Skoochy would be coming from another direction, and they hoped he would be able to kill Amon and Tarrlok once and for all, possibly triggering the Avatar State.

She checked her watch again. Four minutes.

But Jinora knew something the others didn't, despite the fact that she had explained it to them. The Avatar State was where the Avatar gained the knowledge and abilities of all their past lives. Easy enough. But Skoochy _had_no past lives. He was the first Avatar. It didn't matter that there had been Avatars before him. He had no connection to them, other than the ability to communicate in dreams, but Spirits could communicate with anyone.

Her explanation had done nothing but confuse them, since she was barely coherent with anger at the time - how could they send him in there? Didn't they get it? - and had been brushed off as the nerves of an emotionally scarred girl whose boyfriend was about to go on the most dangerous mission of his life.

She glanced down at her watch. Three minutes.

Where was her team? They were supposed to have been back with forty-five minutes and Jinora was supposed to lead them out. Well, most of them. Two were supposed to stay and help Skoochy - General Iroh and Tahno - but the others were supposed to come back and she was going to lead them off the island so they could report to Asami what was going on and what she should do in the way of sending troops. If they didn't come before the two minutes were up, Jinora was supposed to leave herself and alert Asami. There was a water bender hidden on the shore to ferry her back to the base.

Two minutes.

Jinora's lip was bleeding where she had been chewing on it for the past hour. This was worse than anything she had ever experienced. When Amon had kidnapped her and her family when she was ten. When she had her bending taken five years later. When he had killed her family. Always there had been _something_going on, something other than this horrible waiting and wondering, not knowing was was going on. It was killing her. Her friends were in there, in her home, fighting a battle she could not take part in.

Worse still, the man she loved was in there. What was going on? Why wasn't anyone coming? She didn't want to leave them here without knowing.

One minute.

She stood. Almost time to go. She knew she had to leave, and she was prepared to, but she would be a wreck when she got back to the base.

She waited by the exit, eyes glued to her watch.

_Forty-nine... forty-eight... forty-seven..._

"AAAUUUGHHHH!"

She froze. She knew that scream. She hadn't heard it in years, but she would recognize that voice anywhere.

_Rohan._

Rohan was alive. He was alive, he was alive, they could be together at last!

_"No! Stop it! AAAUUUGHHH!"_

And he was screaming.

Throwing caution to the wind, Jinora turned and sprinted down the tunnel.

The time for waiting was passed.

She was going to get her brother.


	10. Time

**READ THIS: Wow. Super long chapter. I shall now post a very long Author's Note to go along with it. First things first, you might want to read my story 'Of Circus Tricks and Courageous Acts' before this chapter, or else you might be sort of confused since I mention their meeting and the events in that story. Also, there's a whole other chapter that could stand to be written between this one and the last one where the bloodbending brothers try to get information out of Rohan, but I couldn't make myself write it. I'm not _that_ cruel, even if I did kill all the other airbenders. Also, for those who are wondering, Rohan escaped also and was taken in by a family of nonbenders, who kept him hidden away so he wouldn't be killed. The family wasn't a part of the rebellion, which was why Jinora didn't know he was still alive. Also, Jinora mentions that she was there when Skoochy showed up, even though it said in the last chapter that he was supposed to be there already, but he, Iroh II, and Tahno were delayed, so they didn't get there until Jinora was just about to cave in and tell Amon and Tarrlok everything to make them stop hurting Rohan. All right, go ahead and read the chapter now. I own nothing.**

"Hey, Skoochy!" Jinora called, and he kept walking. She jogged after him, weaving through the crowds of people in the square. "Skoochy!"

He didn't hear her, and she rolled her eyes. "SKOOCHY!"

He finally turned, his eyes searching the crowd for her. She noticed the obvious relief on his face when he finally spotted her and began shoving through the people to reach her. For her part, she ducked and weaved through the people until they were facing each other.

"Hey," he said with a small smile, the one he reserved just for her. She beamed back at him.

"Hi."

He took her hands in his, having to stoop down slightly to do so; he was more than a head taller than her.

"So," he said, grinning.

"So," she replied.

Before she had time to think, Skoochy swept her up into his arms so that her feet left the ground and held her close. She buried her face against his neck and breathed in the smell of him, smiling like the fool she was.

He set her down a moment later, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Let's find a place to sit."

"Okay," she said, slightly breathless, and, still holding hands, they wove through the crowd until they made their way to a bench.

"Recognize the spot?" Skoochy asked, grinning, and she nodded, smiling reminiscently.

"Oh, yes. This is where we met. Korra ditched me."

"Eight and a half years ago," Skoochy said fondly. "You remember that?"

"Which part? Getting lost? Sneaking into the circus? You saving my life?"

"I was thinking more about how I thought you were cute," he said with a grin, and she couldn't help but blush.

"I remember thinking that you were handsome," she said, smiling up at him as she rested her head on his shoulder. "If I remember correctly, I wrote something in my journal about liking bad boys."

Skoochy scoffed, feigning indignation. "Bad boy? Bad boy? Who's a bad boy? Not me, surely."

"'Course note. You're an angel," Jinora said solemnly, allowing her eyes to drift halfway shut and letting the noise of the laughing, shouting crowd wash over her, a small smile playing about her lips.

"No, just the Avatar. I do happen to be closely acquainted with an angel, though."

She grinned. "Short, sweet, and sappy. I like it."

"Kinda like you."

"I'm not sappy!" Jinora said, pulling away slightly and mock-frowning at him. He grinned infuriatingly back at her.

"Yeah, but you're short and sweet and I like you. Three out of four ain't bad."

She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder once more, closing her eyes. He smiled down at her.

"How's Rohan?" he asked after several moments, and she frowned.

"He's sleeping. Kippy looked after the bruises and cuts, but his wrist is going to take a while to heal up..." She made a hissing noise, unable to express her anger any other way. "It figures, doesn't it, that the day I found out he's still alive is the same day that Amon and Tarrlok decide to torture him for information he doesn't even have..."

Skoochy placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted her face up so that she met his eyes.

"You didn't escape entirely unscathed either, you know," he said gently, examining her black eye and the numerous small cuts covering her face. Jinora waved his concerns away impatiently.

"Of course I didn't; who did? But I knew what I was getting into when I came with you. Rohan, on the other hand..." She shivered as the memory of her brother's screams filled her mind. "He's only eight. He didn't know anything. They _knew_he didn't know anything. So what was the point?"

"They knew that nothing they did to you would make you tell them anything," Skoochy said, his voice full of pride in her silence and pain at what she had gone through at the bloodbenders' hands. "So they knew that if they hurt your brother you'd have to tell them something."

"Thanks for showing up when you did," Jinora said quietly. "I don't think I could have listened to him scream for another second before I told them everything."

"Hey," Skoochy said softly, wrapping his arm around shoulders. "It's okay now. They're gone, you can go back to the island with Rohan, and we'll all be fine."

"I won't see you very often, will I?" Jinora asked glumly, and Skoochy wondered if she was determined to be depressed.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll have to stay here to take care of things in the city, since I'm the only airbender old enough and I'll have to be on the Council, and you'll have to travel all over the world to do your Avatar duties... So we won't see each other very often."

"Oh, yeah," Skoochy said, frowning. "That could be a problem... You could always marry me."

"Do _what?_" Jinora shrieked, jerking away and staring at him with wide eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her outburst.

"Marry me," he said simply. "You know, be joined in holy matrimony? That thing? Husband, wife, the pitter patter of little feet... Or the sound of rushing wind or whatever, if they're airbenders. Come on, you know you want to," he said with a devilish grin. Jinora was flabbergasted.

"Get _married_? But we've only... known each other..."

"For eight and a half years. I think that's long enough."

"But we've only been dating for six months!"

"But then you add those eight years where we were just friends. I think we got to know each other pretty well."

"I'm eighteen!"

"And I'm twenty."

"Don't you think we're kind of... young?" Jinora asked desperately, not entirely sure why she was protesting so much.

"Not at all," he said with an unconcerned shrug. "We're both legal age. You've been old enough to get married for two years."

"Well, yes, but... What about Rohan?"

"What about him? He can live with us. I don't have a problem with that. You would have been living with him anyways."

"But what if he's not happy with it?"

"Kid, not to brag or anything, but your brother adores me."

"But I just got him back," Jinora said in a small voice. "I want some time with him."

Skoochy didn't have a ready retort for that, and he cocked his head to the side as he examined her for a few seconds.

"All right then," he said finally. "So we'll wait a little while. Whenever you're ready."

"Thanks," she said, a relieved smile spreading across her face as, once again, she leaned her head against his shoulder, watching all the people celebrating.

"After all," Skoochy murmured, resting his head on top of hers, "we've got time."


End file.
